Olympian Saviors: Sacrifice
by Jacob Ryder
Summary: Jacob OC  makes it to Camp Half-Blood to find that campers are going missing. He gathers the victims of these losses to find them. But what they find is that the stakes are much higher than they expected.  Featuring both OC and canon characters.
1. Chapter 1 The Enticing Story of Jacob

Chapter 1

Jacob

What makes you special? Do you play sports better than anyone else? Do you draw well? Can you spit a lougie 15 feet? There is always a skill that defines you. Everyone has something special about them. Well, if that's true, what makes me special?

"Jacob," Mr. Richardson repeated. I was daydreaming again. I was resting my head on my arm on the desk of Mr. Richardson, the friendly, African American social worker. I got up right away. "Yes, I'm sorry, I was just-"

"I know."

"Know what?"

"You were day dreaming."

"What were you doing?"

"What?"

"Huh?"

Mr. R stood up and rubbed his eyes. He was tired and frustrated. "You have to stop that."

"Stop what?" I asked.

"There you go again stalling!" He was desperate. "But that's not why we're here. You have a problem. You've been through a ton of adoptive parents. You can't stay at just one home? If you stay on this track, you'll have to stay at this place forever. I know it's a..." He thought of a word teens might use. "Bummer. But not everyone needs to adopt."

"Mr. and Mr. Becker do," I corrected.

Mr. Richardson gave me a look. "My point is these people are being very generous. And they're all great people. But you run away from all of them. I thought you wanted a new home."

I snapped. "No! I don't! I don't want a new home! I want my old home! I want my... father and sister." I fell into my chair and slumped down. "You don't know how this feels." I said quietly.

Mr. R sat down too. "I do," he said. I shot him a look. "Did I ever tell you that I lost my parents too?" I shook my head. "Well I did. It happened when I was 5. I was a lot like you. I was with my 2 little brothers when we were taken out of school. We were told our parents had been in a car accident. After the first week of being with my adoptive parents, I ran away from them. I did it again. And again. Every house I was sent to. It was horrible. I actually thought I was going to break a record." He chuckled. "But no such luck. I only had 12. You're on your 19th." He turned serious. "But this is no game. And this is no way to live."

"My sister?" I asked. I knew the answer.

"I'm sorry; Jacob, but you're 14. I've told you a thousand times," Mr. Richardson said. "She went back to St. Geniveve's in Florida. We can't control anything."

Mikayla. I love her. My sister is the only living family member I have left. But I haven't seen her in 6 years. The last time I saw her, she had little brown pig tails and a tooth missing. I miss her so much. She never knew that she was adopted until Dad died. She was really angry when she found out. She was sent back to the orphanage in Florida where our dad adopted her.

"I know," was all I could say. I looked at the room. Tan colored, peaceful. Filled with books. A single desk and a shag carpet beneath it. So simple. So familiar. Mr. R put his hand on my shoulder. "It'll be fine." He smiled.

"Thanks," I said. I got up. "I'll be seeing you then."

_It'll be fine._ Oh, please. It's all going to be alright? I doubt it. The phone started ringing and Mr. R sighed. "Bye," I said, before he picked up the phone.

I closed the door and walked down the cold, wood floor. A light flickered. A phone rang 14 doors back. Amazing what you can notice when your mind is blank. I heard footsteps approximately 20 feet behind me.

"Hey Jacob!" a voice called. Huh? Those footsteps belonged to Rudi. I looked him down. Curly red hair, red nose, and around a thousand red freckles. I forgot what Rudi stood for, but we all called him Rudolph because he's allergic to everything, giving him a bright red nose. "Guess what?" he said, sounding like he won the lottery.

"What?" I asked, trying to sound as excited as him.

"I'm getting adopted!"

"That's great!" I said. Rudi wasn't a parent's first choice. He wasn't athletic, or anything that they were looking for. "Who is it? I knew you'd find someone!"

Rudi smiled, apparently pleased. "Thanks!" he said. "As a matter of fact it's actually a boarding school. They were accepting kids who don't have homes to stay there. Some sort of program, like… A Roof for All or… Whatever! It sounds great!"

Well it wasn't a home, but Rudi was happy. So that made me happy too.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Rudi and I were walking through the forest behind Matson Home Orphanage. It was dark out, and we were laughing and sharing jokes until there was a rustle in the bushes. We gasped and backed up.<p>

"What is it?" whispered Rudi.

"I don't know!"

"Well what do we do?"

"I don't know!"

The bushes moved some more, so I reached into my pocket slowly, grasping for my Swiss Army knife. I yanked it out, and accidentally pulled open the corkscrew. I yelped and fumbled with it some more until the knife was out. Twigs snapped and a deep growl sounded. Rudi yelped and walked backwards, tripping.

"Who's there?" I asked out. I held up the knife. "I have a… weapon?"

The thing growled again, and I saw its eyes. Before I could react, the beast leaped.

The "beast" was our dog.

"Iris!" I yelled. "Iris! Get off!" I couldn't help but laugh as she licked my face clean. Rudi was cracking up.

"That wasn't funny!" I said as she climbed off of my chest. The dog was an American Eagle. A combination of an American Eskimo and a Beagle. She was medium sized and had a colorful bandana tied around her neck. Rudi, River (You'll meet him soon), and I found him in the forest a couple years ago as a puppy. We kept her outside, as pets weren't aloud.

"You should have seen your face!" said Rudi, cracking up.

"_My_ face?" I said laughing. "You looked like you saw Michael Jackson back from the dead!"

We ended up laughing a bit more until the window to our room opened. River was leaning outside beckoning us over. We sprinted over to the window.

"Guys!" he said. "Mrs. Psyches is checking all the rooms for curfew! Get in!"

River had shaggy black hair and green-blue eyes. He was wearing a hoodie, much too long for him, and a loose tie. He dressed oddly on purpose, to tick adults off. He was athletic, and a bit taller than me.

As we got under the window, I leaned down on one knee, and cupped my hands. Rudi stepped on them, and I pushed him up, River helping him in. River grabbed Rudi's feet, and lowered him down. He grabbed my hands and pulled me in. As we scrambled to get in our beds, I couldn't help but laugh. This was my real family.

Before I knew it, it was tomorrow. Or today. Whatever. It was a boring day, and I did nothing but study, and eat. But at around 3:00 P.M., I was called into the office.

Mr. Richardson stood there with a man in his 40's. He had blonde hair that reached his shoulders, and was starting to grow a beard.

"Jacob," said Mr. Richardson. "This is Mr. Core. Did Rudi tell you about that program? Roofs Cover All… Whatever. I don't know what it's called."

"Yes."

"Good. Good. Because you, Rudi, and River are all going there together. Mr. Core was very impressed with your grades, so he figured you'd make a great role-model. I'm sure you'll have a great time."

Mr. Core smiled. "Yes," he said. "You sure will."

His teeth were pretty sharp.


	2. Chapter 2 My Princeple's a Monster

Chapter 2

_Jacob_

I forgot to mention I'm a genius. I know that seems random and extremely conceited. But it's true. I've never gotten anything less than an A+. I may not be able to bench-press twice my weight, but I can determine the difference between plantae and a protozoa microbes. That information will come in handy, believe it or not. No, not the microbes bit. This paragraph.

Anyhow, I'm going to spare you the boring details of our "Adventures at Howards Home for Boys." That would be a _horrible_ book. I'll skip to the interesting part. So to sum it up; we got there on a bus (Unfortunately having to leave Iris), we got there, got settled and lived there for three weeks. Imagine school, but having to live there. No weekend breaks. _And no cute girls_. Yeah, that's right. It was hell.

So of course, I was planning my escape. I thought up a hundred plans to get me kicked out. But Mr. Core would always allow it. I thought up a thousand escape plans. But this place was like a fortress. I came up with _a million_ prison escape riot plans. But none of the "inmates" gave a flip anymore. I gave up.

Okay. One more try.

And that's how I ended up in Mr. Core's office. I beheaded the statue of Howard Chesterfield (The founder) and mounted the head on the flag pole. As I sat in the chair of the office, I smiled smugly. Mr. Core tapped his fingers. We continued our stare-off for a couple minutes. Then he sighed, and smiled. And asked a rather odd question. "Do you know my first name?"

That's a very weird question. Regardless, I thought back, to all the times I might have heard it. Then I remembered. "Manny?" I tried.

He smiled wider. "Now think about my name." Is this guy high? He looked like a hippie so… Wait. Manny? Core? Manny Core? I remembered something from one of my favorite subjects. I recounted everything I remembered about it.

"Manticore?" I said. "Like the creature in mythology? It had the head of a man, body of a lion, and a poisonous barbed tail. It was ferocious, and loved to eat humans. But what does this have to do with anything?"

He simply smiled wider.

His teeth weren't just sharp.

They were fanged.

And he leaned over the table close to my ear. And in a whisper, hardly audible, he said,

"Run."

I don't know what was in me, but I listened to him. My instincts told me that those weren't plastic vampire teeth. So I ran.

I threw the wooden chair at him as I ran away. The last thing I saw was him swiping the chair away. His spine jerked outward, like his back was suddenly arched.

As I ran down the hall, I could hear him laughing. "I love it when they run!" he said. I knew I had to get out of here. But River and Rudi were in trouble too. Luckily, as I ran down the dormitory area, I slammed into River.

"Jacob!" he said. "Jacob! Calm the heck down!" I slowed my breathing and grasped my chest. I was hyperventilating. "River… Mr. C-Core-" As if on queue, a long skinny spike, impaled the wall between us. We screamed in unison. I looked down the hall to see what looked like Mr. Core.

Except his body was a huge 5-foot-tall shaggy lion's, and his tail looked like on of those spiked maces from medieval times. That's where the spike came from. His head was more like an ape's, but still with features from what we thought was our principle. I looked at River, and we screamed again. Before we could react, something huge from the other hall hit Core to the side like a freight train. We didn't care what it was, but we had to get the hell out of there _now_.

While we ran down the hall again, I asked River, "Where's Rudi? We can't leave him!" River looked scared as he ever could, but he still managed to squeak out, "Upstairs! Go!"

We ran as fast as our 13-year-old legs could carry us. As we sprinted up the stairs, Core showed up beneath us. Instead, he ran and leaped 20 feet, onto the stairs in front of us. We screamed, yet again. The monster was cracking up "You demi-gods are so pathetic. You're not mortal, or immortal. It's like, 'just make up your minds!'" What the heck was he rambling about? He noticed he was getting off track. "Anyway, prepare to die, yada, yada, yada, meet your doom, and all that jazz." He roared and leaped at us. We both ducked just in time and ran away again.

We dove into our room, and slammed the door behind us. We gasped for air, as Rudi looked at us weirdly. "Guuuys?" he said. "What's going on?" We heard a big _SLAM!_ And we yelped. River and I pushed the bunk bed closest to us in front of the door. River lost his cool. "He's trying to kill us!"

Another slam. All of us ran out the window, to the fire escape. "Go! Go! Go!" I told them. And I realized something. A horrible realization.

The door opens outwards.

We all went down the ladders as fast as we could. I caught a glimpse of Mr. Core casually opening the door and pushing the bed down. River and Rudi were already down and running. Before my foot touched the last rung, Core pounced and tore the ladder apart. I fell and hit the ground, taking my breath away. I felt numb for a moment, and then I felt an extreme, searing pain. I looked to my left, and I saw a yard long shard from the ladder in my shoulder. I haven't ever felt pain like this before. I groaned, unable to speak. I couldn't make sense of my surroundings. For a moment, I was so delirious; I thought I was in the bath tub. I didn't understand that either.

I was having a horrible day. I saw Mr. Core, upside-down, laughing. As I looked to my right, I saw Rudi and River charging Core. They were armed with tree branches. Those idiots. They should just run away. Then I saw something stranger. I saw three more figures with them. A guy and a girl holding a sword and a chain. And our dog. Iris. I couldn't make sense of any of it. I couldn't hear anything for a minute. But I saw Iris shift. Like Play-Doh, she shifted into the shape of a rhinoceros. I was either going mad, or… Well I must be going mad. The rhino must have been what hit Core in the hall. Core noticed them. But he was too late. The animal charging him, hit him with the force of a… Well a rhinoceros. I blacked out.

Once I woke up, I was leaning against the building. I looked to my left, and saw the metal shard was removed from my shoulder. I looked to the right for the others. I found the manticore fighting the two medieval teens, my pet rhino-dog, and my friends beating it with sticks. Yep. I've gone mad. And they were losing. The beast would shoot its spurs everywhere, and regenerate them. It looked like it was having fun. The way a cat has fun playing with a mouse.

I groaned and slowly got up, holding onto the wall for support. I caught Iris turning into a tiger, but Core swept her aside. I picked up the yard-long metal shard that was in my shoulder. The two kids were about to drop from exhaustion. I was meter away from him. I saw Rudi and River whacking his rear with sticks. Core ignored them. And with all my strength, I thwacked him in the head. He was so shocked, he just stood there. I did it again. This time, to the face. He really felt it. He put his head in-between his paws and cried out in pain. Then he picked it up, and looked at me ferociously. I screamed and ran away. I am not ashamed to admit that. OK, slightly.

He charged. I guess I _really_ ticked him off. As we ran, I noticed my shard ended with a point. It gave me an idea. Once he got close, I stopped and turned around. He still charged, but my make-shift spear was pointing out. I closed my eyes. Then a _clump_. I peeked one eye open. The shard went straight through his forehead. I smiled and ripped it out. A large wound showed, dripping some weird golden blood. "Ha!" I yelled at him. "Screw you!" I laughed and kicked his head.

But I saw the rest of the group running towards me from the other side of the body. The new girl yelled something. I couldn't make it out. "He's not dead!" she yelled as they got closer. Un-freaking-believable. The flesh wound on his head started melting away, so that he was as good as new. He cackled. "Nice try, Half-blood," he said. "But I don't go down so easily." As he was laughing, a blade of sorts ripped through his chest. He peeked down and at the last second, smiled. Another sword took his head clean off.

Immediately, the body turned into golden dust. A wind came by, and swept it up. The girl's weapon was a wicked blade on the end of a chain. The black, Onyx sword belonged to the boy. He held the head by its hair. "How you like them apples?" He dropped the head and kicked it, like a soccer ball. In mid-air, it turned to gold dust too. I blacked out again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Jacob_

_I didn't know where I was. I was everywhere, yet I was nowhere. That sounds really cheesy and trippy. It felt like purgatory. I was surrounded by nothing but a dim, grey light. I heard a woman's voice, guiding me. "Jacob." I heard it from all around me. "You are important. You will see soon."_

I woke up startled. I refused to open my eyes. Somehow, that made me feel better. I felt around, and saw I was on a bed. Good, it was all a dream. I'll be home, safe and sound. I slowly peeked one eye open.

I yelped and scooted back quickly. I was in an infirmary. It wasn't high-tech, and had no machinery. I was in a bed lined up next to about 10 on either side of me. Some were filled, some empty. I saw some people with crutches and slings. What was going on?

I also saw people sitting around me. Rudi and River were sitting at the foot of the bed. I saw the two others at the bed next to us. I even saw Iris curled up in my lap (Thankfully dog, not a rhino). I looked back to the other two people. They looked about our age. The boy had longish blonde hair and was wearing a red and black sweatshirt. The girl had brown-blonde hair, and had golden eyes. I caught a glimpse of River looking at her, obviously smitten. I nearly laughed at him.

The girl smiled. "Good," she said. "You're awake. My name is Valerie Carter. Daughter of Apollo. Call me Val. And this is Jerez Drake. Son of Hades." She put her hand out to shake, as if that was something completely normal to say.

I stared at her for a full 10 seconds. She felt the awkwardness, and put her hand back. "I'm sorry," I said. "But can you explain to me what you are talking about? And what the hell was that- that- _thing? _Where am I?" I tried getting up, but I felt a shooting pain in my left arm. I'd nearly forgotten about that.

Jerez quickly put his hand on my chest, slowly pushing me down. "Careful," he said. "You're still sore. You're ready to leave, but we need to put you in a sling. As for…"he looked at Val. They looked at each other.

Val spoke first. "You're a demi-god." I gave her a look. I loved Greek mythology. One of my favorite subjects to study. But because it was so ridiculous! Jerez laughed. "I always love their faces!"

I looked at him. Val punched him in the arm. "Seriously!" she said. "Anyway, Jacob, is it? Greek mythology. The gods. It's all real." I guess she figured it would be better to tell me all at once. Like ripping a band-aid off. And she added on. "And one of your parents is a god. And before you say anything! We can prove all of this. But don't freak out." I shook my head. I knew that any moment, Ashton Kutcher was going to pop out saying, "You've just been Punk'd!" But I _couldn't_ explain the manticore.

Val sighed and held up her index finger. All of the lights in the room went out. Even the candle next to my bed. An orb of light appeared just above her finger. Impossible! Photokinesis is impossible. I couldn't explain it. But- but- _Gods?_ It's not possible. But for some reason… I knew it was. And that woman's voice in my dreams… Was it my…mother? I never knew her. If she was a goddess, who was she? I had so many thoughts going through my mind at once! I couldn't think straight. I was part God! Imagine how I felt.

I looked at River and Rudi. I'd almost forgotten about them. River was still staring at Val, admiringly. And Rudi smiled encouragingly. I guess they explained this to them before me. I excepted it. Finally. I looked to the Jerez and Val.

"Can you give me the grand tour?"

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," said Jerez. I was astounded. I just stood there, taking in my surroundings. It was like any other summer camp, except the campers were running around in Greek armor and orange T-shirts, and carrying swords. It looked more like a training camp then a summer camp though. People were shooting arrows, they were sword-fighting, and wrestling. Throwing spears. Fighting. But there were normal stuff too. Large wooden buildings, trees everywhere, and a lake.

Jerez, Val, River, Rudi, Iris, and I all visited everything. I learned a ton about Camp. And I decided that I would love it here. We toured the Big House, also. It was the head of the camp, near the entrance. It was like a big, red farmhouse, and Dionysus-leader of Camp, and a god-lived there. I got excited to meet a real god, but he was taking a nap. We did not want to interrupt his nap. The last time someone woke him, he became a dolphin. I think he lives in the lake somehow. Dionysus had a thing about dolphins. But finally, we visited the cabins. If you looked directly above it, they would all form the shape of an _Omega_ surrounded by two circles. We visited each one, and refreshed my memory.

Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture.

Aphrodite, Goddess of Love

Ares, God of War.

Apollo, God of the Sun.

Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt.

Hephaestus, God of the Forge.

Hermes, God of Travel.

Dionysus, God of Wine.

Hera, Goddess of Marriage.

Hades, God of the Underworld.

Poseidon, God of the Ocean.

Zeus, God of the Sky.

And there were many more, like Hecate, Nike (No, not the shoe.), and Hypnos. But they didn't matter to me right now. We stopped at one of the 13 major gods from Olympus. Athena. It was a grey, marble building. White curtains hung from inside. Above the entrance, a large owl was carved. Cabin 6.

I slowly walked over to the building. I looked into the window. Faintly, I saw my reflection. Thick, shaggy, jet black hair. I had really pale skin, and a lot of freckles. One of my oddest aspects were my eyes. They were a silver-grey color, and twinkled in the sunlight.

I looked to the others. They all smiled. "Do you really think?…"

"You're smart," said Val. "Resourceful. And like all the other Athena campers here, you have grey eyes."

I saw Iris change form again. This time into an owl. She flapped her wings, and perched on top of the building. I noticed a faint glow from above my head. As I looked up, I saw a holographic owl with out-stretched wings.

The others clapped. I didn't know what this thing meant, but I felt proud regardless. "Welcome," said Jerez. "Jacob Ryder, Son of Athena."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Jacob_

Life at Camp was great. I learned to fight. I guess there were a lot more monsters then Mr. Core. Apparently we _all_ have ADHD. It's our battle instincts. I'm great with hand-to-hand, but I am horrible with long range. I can't use bows and arrows. Spears are too awkward to hold and use for me. And the last time I used a javelin, I broke a window in the Big House. I am _not_ going to talk about what it took to pay them back.

It turns out, I'm a natural with a sword. I cant explain it, but when someone attacks, I see everything in slow motion. I know when, and where they'll attack. I can always block their moves, and come back strong. I feel great whenever I win a fight.

I was also meeting new people. I have a lot of friends in my cabin. Well, technically they're all family. The leader, Annabeth, was nice and taught me new sword techniques. Another, Malcolm, taught me battle strategy. Chet We _are_ family, so we stick out for each other.

I also have another weird half-sister named Ivy Meer. She has long, curly, dark blonde hair, and She's either really quiet, or talks a _lot_. Her best friend is a boy from Hecate, named Cody Marcus. He has medium-length brown hair, and owns like 12 amulets with weird symbols. I don't know if they're just friends, or if it's anything romantic. But they're always together.

Rudi started checking out the Aphrodite girls. I have to admit it's funny seeing him stalk them. One in particular is Nicole Taylor. (She prefers Nikki, and you do _not_ want to call her Nicole) She has long, red hair, and pale blue eyes. She's beautiful, in an innocent way. But she's the daughter of Aphrodite, so that's expected. Nicole was really sweet, and wasn't anything like the majority of her snotty cabin-mates. She had a best friend who was always by her side. Cassia Jones. She wasn't very tall, and she had wavy, brown hair. Her father, Aether, was the god of light and wind. And she was deaf. Some people pitied her, but that was a mistake. She could see farther than anyone else, and when she closed her eyes, she could read vibrations in the ground. That proved handy in our Capture the Flag matches.

River and Rudi weren't "claimed" yet, as they call it. When that holographic owl appeared above my head, that was Athena saying that I was her child. They stayed in the Hermes cabin until it happened to them too.

River still chased Valerie. He seemed to have a distaste for Jerez. Maybe he thought he was with her? Either way, River was crazy.

But basically, camp life was great.

A month after being claimed, I sat alone in my bed. It was late, but I was still up. I got dibs on the top bunk, because I'm awesome. I heard the door creak open. I quickly shot up, and banged my head on the ceiling. I cursed under my breath, but I stayed quiet. I saw the figure still standing in the doorway. A camper in our orange shirt, but I couldn't see it's face. I saw it make the hand gesture for come here. A didn't have a choice, but to see who it was. I crawled off the bed, and crept to the door. The figure grabbed my hand and dragged me outside.

Luckily it was just River. "What the hell?" I said. "You scared me half-to death."

"Sorry," he said. "But we want to talk to you." He looked horrible. He was in distress. He lead me to the side of the cabin, where I saw Valerie, Jerez, and Nikki were sitting there. "What's going on?" I asked impatiently.

Jerez patted the spot on his right. "Hey bud," he said. "Here, sit down."

I sat down, but I was still waiting for an answer. River squeezed between Val and Jerez. I looked at everyone. "Well?"

Val spoke first. "Chiron," she said. "You know, the centaur? Well he doesn't want us to know this but…" She struggled. "Campers have been going missing. So far… about 30 people are gone. He doesn't want to freak us out,"

I was really surprised. 30 people? How could no one notice? Who was gone?

Jerez carried on. "Some of us have noticed. And we all know someone who's gone missing."

"Cassie." said Nicole, a tear appearing in her eye. This was the first time I've heard her speak before. "She's gone."

"Nico," said Jerez. His pale face was even whiter than usual. "He was my half"

"Adri," said Val. "My half-sister. She taught me to play piano."

"We've all lost someone," Jerez said. I noticed River was deathly quiet,

"Where's Rudi?" I asked. I didn't know until moments later that I said it.

"Jacob-" River started.

"No!" I said. "Where. Is. Rudi?"

"He's gone."

I don't care who broke me the news. Rudi was missing. I didn't understand any of the situation, but I knew I had to find him. But where would I start? And there were monsters out there. I only had a month of training! But I can't let one of my best friends be taken!

It took a full 5 minutes for them to calm me down, and convince me to go to sleep. I was completely against it, but I had no other choice. So I slept.

And I dreamt.

_I looked over an ocean. I had no body, but I saw everything as if it were through my own eyes. The sea went on for forever, the horizon nothing but a mist. I glided over the water, for what seemed like forever. Finally, I slowed down and stopped at an island. I saw giant sheep eating meat. Weird. I floated around to see a forest and a mountain. I found the entrance and entered to see a giant man, 20 feet tall roaming around. As he turned around, I saw that his eye sockets were empty. On his forehead, was a single, working eye. I knew he was a Cyclops. I heard stories about a kid at camp named Percy Jackson. He had come here before. This was Polyphemus. He sat in the cave crying. It was weird, him having only one eye. But why was I seeing this? Before I could think anything else, I was ripped from the scene, out of the cave and back over the ocean. Somehow I knew that I was going South. 3 miles. 4 miles. 5. 6. 7. I stopped. Exactly 7 miles South of Polyphemus's home, there is 3 islands. They're evenly spaced out, and are littered with forests. I can't see what else is there very well. All of a sudden, my surrounding changed. I'm going down a tunnel. About a mile in, it opened up to a large round clearing. Surrounding the space, are cages built into the walls. As I look into the cages, I see campers in orange shirts, most sleeping. There's about ten of them. I tried reaching out for one of the cage handles, but I had no body. I felt myself being pulled back. I tried to resist, but to no prevail. Before I was gone, I saw someone in one of the cages. A red head with a bright red nose. Was it him?_

_And I heard that woman's voice again. "Good luck, Jacob Ryder."_

I woke up gasping for air. The dream didn't make much sense at the moment. I was trying to get back in shape, when I heard something below me. I peeked over the edge.

I saw that Cody Marcus kid looking extremely distressed. Annabeth was putting her arm on his shoulder, comforting him. What was going on? I jumped off, and saw my other sibling looked stressed out. "What's going on?"

"Ivy's missing," said Annabeth.

"Where is she?" said Cody, sounding desperate.

I looked at the bunk below mine, where Ivy slept. The blanket was half torn off, as if she was dragged from her sleep.

I ran through camp, like a mad man. I didn't know who to go to, but the Apollo cabin was closest. As I ran in, I saw Valerie sitting on a bed. Her eyes were red, so she must have been crying.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Jerez," she said. "He's gone too."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Jacob_

We sat in a circle around a fire. The five of us. Val, River, Nicole, Cody, and I. We were in the middle of the forest, sitting on tree stumps. We were sitting in silence, waiting.

"Well?" said Cody. He was still on edge since Ivy went missing.

"You know why we're here," I said. "We've all lost someone." I looked at them all. "I don't know about you guys… But I intend on getting them back."

"Don't be ignorant," said Nicole. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure that's such a good idea. You got here a month ago. We haven't been trained as well as the senior campers. All of us here are, what? 13? As much as I want to save Cassia and J- I don't think we're cut out for it. And we don't even know where they are."

We were quiet for a moment. "That's why we're here. I know where they are."

Cody jumped up. "You do? Where is she? I have know!" River took his shoulder and pulled him down. "Settle down," he said. "Just listen."

Cody sat down, reluctantly. He rubbed one of his amulets. It was a loop of gold, with strips of metal overlapping each other, cross-hatching like a waffle. The crossroads, the sign of Hecate.

"I had a dream," I said. "I saw Polyphemus. Exactly 7 miles South of his home there's three islands. I know on one of them, there's a small prison. I saw about 10 campers there." I looked at River. "Rudi was there too."

Nicole bit her lip and nodded. "Good. Now we just need to find out where Polyphemus's island is."

Val smiled. "I have an idea."

"So," said Percy. "You need me?"

This was Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon. He had Shaggy black hair, like River's. He had green eyes too. He was apparently famous around camp. I looked around the cabin, to see a couple kids. There weren't many. One kid turned around and I saw that he had no eyes, except for one on his forehead. He was Cyclops. I jumped, but remembered he was a camper too. I looked to Percy. "Yes," I said. "We need to know exactly where Polyphemus's island is."

"Ah, Polyphemus," he said. "Good times, good times. Are you going there? What for?"

"No," said Cody. "There's something nearby. We need to… Visit?" Smooth.

"Ah," Percy said winking. "A quest. In that case…" He pulled out a pen and paper and wrote down the exact coordinates. He folded it up and handed it to me. "If it's a quest you're having, visit Rachel in the Big House. She's the Oracle now. You might want to check her out." He winked. "And see if she can help you." I pity-laughed. He turned serious. "Don't tell Annabeth. Seriously. She will kill me." He looked very serious.

River looked at the paper. "Good," he said. "That means it's 26.273 Lat. and -72.685 Long. Exactly."

Percy clicked his tongue and saluted him. "Perfect. You claimed?"

"No sir," River said, smirking.

"You sure about that?"

Above River's head was a holographic trident.

"Great time to get claimed, Einstein," I teased him.

"I'm the sun of Poseidon," he said. "I don't care _when_ I'm claimed. The fact that he's my dad is enough."

We were waiting outside of the Big House with Cody, Nicole, and our Eagle dog Iris. Apparently Apollo was the god of the Oracle too, so Val thought she should go in to get Rachel. Alone Sure enough she came out with the red-headed girl. We all took a seat on the porch.

"So," Rachel said. "What's up?"

Nicole spoke up. "We're going on a quest. Percy said you could help."

"Ah," said the Oracle girl. "Percy. Well it doesn't really work that way. I can't just automatically call on my-" She froze. Her eyes rolled back in her head. She opened her mouth and green smoke came billowing out. Crazy freaky. I was ready to bolt. But she started speaking in an older woman's voice.

"_Decedents with a grudge become,_

_A threat to all, A threat to one._

_Make a sacrifice to Earth,_

_Just so they can prove their worth._

_Just children will save us, we can rely,_

_But one of these 6 children, _

_Are doomed to die._

_But do not woe, or be torn,_

_For there is a chance, they can be reborn."_

I shivered. The words were deathly creepy. I took out he coordinates of the islands, and wrote down the words.

Rachel shook her head, and wiped her mouth. "Guess you got lucky."

"Wait," said Cody. "It said 'But one of these _6_ children.' Who's the 6th?"

"We need someone with experience," said Nicole. "And I think we need someone stronger than us. Our parents are the gods of love, magic, intelligence, the sun, and water. We need some brawns. Who ever that may be, he or she will be our 6th."

Rachel thought for a moment. "Try either the Ares cabin…or Bia's cabin. I heard they just built her cabin. She's the lesser Goddess of war, so she's not well known. But she shouldn't be underestimated."

"Well," River said. "I'm not allowed to be within 10 feet of the Ares cabin. It's a long story, and I don't want to talk about it." He's right about that. I should know, because I took part in that act. We won't talk.

"So Bia's it is," said Rachel. "I'll be seeing you then."

We said our goodbyes, and got moving. The Bia cabin was odd. It was a dark grey building. The front door was supported by two 3D lions carved in the wall. The symbol of force. We caught our breath, and walked in.

It was like any other cabin. There weren't a lot of people, but there were enough to have their own cabin. A boy of 16 walked up and asked, "What do you need?"

"We're going on a quest," said Val. "And we need a recruit. It's a long story, but it seems like we need someone from your cabin."

"Ah," said the boy. He had a tag with the label _Cabin Leader_. "Six!"

"Six" jogged up. She was 13, wearing a grey beanie, with a blonde hair peeking out the front covering her right eye, and the back reaching her waist. She was obviously a grease monkey. But she was actually really pretty.

"Yep?" she asked. The boy took her shoulder and lead her away a bit. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but she ended up coming back, looking excited. She put her hand out to shake. "I'm Six." It was my pleasure to shake her hand.

"So… Six is your real name?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah," she said sarcastically. "My parents were that dumb. No, I like to keep my real name to myself. Caleb, are you sure?"

The Cabin Leader-Caleb-smiled. "Yeah, my sis here did something amazing. She knew to melt down Celestial Bronze into bullets. It's really effective. She started teaching others to do it six years ago, when she was only 7."

Caleb was obviously trying to hook her up with a quest.

"Yeah…" said Six. "But I have a condition, if you want me to come with you."

"What's that?"

"You have to beat me in a sword fight."


	6. Chapter 6 I Get My Ass Kicked By a Girl

Chapter 6

_Jacob_

Nicole and Valerie were archers. River was horrible with swords, better with spears. And Cody didn't give a reason, he just pushed me forward. I didn't have a sword of my own, so I borrowed one from Caleb. It was slightly heavy for me, but I could manage. I saw Six's sword. It was a long, thin, very simple blade of bronze. Nothing flashy. This was my first fight that was important.

Six fixed her beanie, and rubbed the hilt of her sword. "So…you ready yet, Dexter?"

"Ye-" Before I could even finish the word, she swung her sword. I ducked back, like the guy in the Matrix, so her sword just missed my head.

"Ah!" I yelled. "Don't fight dirty!" I spun my sword twice and took stance.

"So you decide what's dirty fighting what's not?" she said. "You think a Dracaenae is going to wait for you to say 'Go'? I don't think so."

She ran head-on, and faked a moved to my chest. Instead she rolled behind me, and swept at my legs. I jumped forward, but she cut my left calf.

I groaned, but I shook it off. We had to get used to it. I lifted the sword and did a simple attack, which should surprise her. She looked at me with disapproval as she swept my sword away to the right. What was going on? I was normally great. I didn't want to hurt her, which was no problem since she was kicking my ass.

I tried jumping for my sword, but she locked the tip of her foot with mine, which sent me face-first. I groaned, but Six allowed me to get my sword. I got up, wiped my face, and took stance yet again. She looked slightly bored. I guess she had a lot of experience.

She casually spun her sword and lunged at me. I was back. I saw every move she made. I could tell how the slight wind would effect the direction of the target area. Everything was in slow motion. I was back!

I pointed the sword up diagonally, and caught her's on the hilt. I turned it to the right, causing her to move with it. While she was incapacitated, I caught her knee with my foot, and knocked her down. She wasn't fazed, but instead, she smiled. She kicked my shin, and instinctively, I brought it to my chest and hugged it. She took the chance and kicked out the leg I was standing on.

While we were both on the ground, she hopped up and placed her knee on my chest. I grunted and put my arm behind her back. I pushed her off and jumped up. Between my cut on my calf, and my bruised shin, I had trouble standing.

She jumped up, still in perfect condition. I took a look at my surroundings; I saw a tiny ditch, a rock, and a patch of thick grass. And I devised a plan. Fast.

She laughed. Not a mocking laugh, but one that meant she was having fun. She pointed her sword straight forward and charged. I completely ignored her and I did my work. At the the tip of my sword was the rock. I flung it in the air, above her head. Six looked up momentarily distracted. I took the half a second as an advantage.

Everything was slow. I kicked her side, and she spun around, about 90 degrees. As she tried to get steadied, she stepped just on the edge of the small ditch. She lost her footing, and tripped. I pushed her forward with my foot, and grabbed her sword. I ditched Caleb's, and aimed with Six's. She landed in the bed of grass face-first, and I pointed my sword to the back of her head.

She turned over to see the tip of her sword touching the tip of her nose.

She laughed, happily. "Good going Pointdexter," she said. "You got me."

"It's Jacob," I said, helping her up.

She laughed again, and noticed her beanie was gone. She quickly snatched it up, but I saw what she was trying to hide. She had a nasty slice from her forehead to her right eye. Unlike her vivid green right eye, her left was a shockingly pale blue. She put her hat on and covered her eye with her hair.

"I'm coming," she said. She didn't sound as up-beat as before. "Now fill me in."

So we prepared. We introduced our selves to Six and filled her in on the quest; we borrowed the camp's van, and Percy even let us borrow his driver's license. We figured River looked enough like Percy and could pass for 16.

We talked out our plan. We all figured we make it to Florida to get to the islands. Apparently, it was in the Bermuda Triangle! Ominous…

Iris was practicing different forms. She was normally in her American Eagle dog form, because her real form was horrifying. She was a Wendigo. They were evil canine creatures who terrorized people in forests. Iris was tame though.

As we all piled in the van, we laughed. River and Val sat in front, while the rest hopped in the back. We were a couple of kids with a dog, so we looked like an episode of Scooby-Doo. As we packed our bags with Ambrosia and other supplies, we realized it. We were really doing it. We were going on a quest. None of us expected it to happen.

And with that, we took off.


	7. Chapter 7 Slow Ride

Chapter 7

_Jacob_

We drove for an hour, with no signs of any monsters. We had just made it from New York to Virginia. We also learned that River was a horrible driver. We nearly died.

Twice.

River almost hit a cat, so he swerved, and the van being so big, crashed into the guard rail. We popped a tire, and had to push it to the nearest truck stop, to fix it up. It was horrible. After that, we decided to let Val drive.

She was a lot better.

We were making stops along the way, and took pictures. While we were in Pennsylvania, we visited Gettysburg. We thought about the people who died. To think… Some of them may have been half-bloods.

In Virginia, we visited the U.S. Air Force Memorial, saw the Great Falls Park, and toured the Mount Vernon Estate, where George Washington lived.

To be honest, I was uneasy. We were having fun, of course. But I felt like we were wasting time. As much as I loved seeing these historical landmarks, I knew that we had to go. Now. After convincing them, we reluctantly got back on the road. By now, it was 9:00 at night.

I heard River and Val talking, so I decided to let them have their privacy. I looked at our misfit team. Six sat facing away, fiddling with her AK-47. She brought the gun with bronze bullets, to go with her simple sword. She would have scared me, if it wasn't for her being so fun-loving. Cody sat there, looking at the wall rubbing one of his amulets. He had two drum sticks and a magic marker. He said those were his weapons, but I didn't understand that. Nicole was asleep in the corner, on her bag. Apparently her shoulder bag could turn into a bow with arrows. I didn't know if I believed her or not.

I sighed and sat down next to Cody. "Hey," I said.

"Hey," he replied simply. His color changing eyes were a pale stayed quiet holding his amulet. It was a loop of metal, tinted blue. Inside it was two arrows crossed, forming an X. In the center was a blue stone I recognized as Lapis Lazuli. The necklace was an obvious sign for friendship.

"Ivy," I said. "You guys were close, right?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his shaggy, brown hair. "Yeah," he said. "Your sister, right?"

"Yep, you guys were inseparable. Were you…"

"No. No, we were just best friends. We came to camp together, and we've always been friends. But who knows…"

So we went on like that, telling each other stories about our lives. Apparently, before they came to Camp, they went on a field trip to the beach, and the chaperone turned in to a siren. And those amulets were made for protection. The one with a snowflake will keep him warm in the cold.

I saw Six pretending to sleep, and I heard River snoring loudly. Nicole gently said "Jerez," in her slumber. Val was nodding off, and Cody was trying to get some rest. I was the only one who wasn't tired at all.

I peeked in the window to the driver's seat. "Hey Val," I said gently.

"Yes?" She kept driving.

"You're really tired, and you should get some rest. I'll take over. And don't worry, I'm a lot better than River. We once took our principle's-the Manticore's-car for a joy ride. It took a while for the cops to catch us."

Val laughed quietly and let me climb in through the window. We traded places awkwardly, and I took the wheel. While Val was in the middle seat, she placed her head on River's shoulder. Those crazy lovebirds.

I drove a bit more, when I heard someone in the small window to the back. I glanced back, and saw Six. "Hey," I said.

"What's up Urkel?" she replied.

"Seriously," I said, giving her a look. "What's with all the nerdy nicknames? Pointdexter? Urkel?"

"I have a habit of nicknaming people. I can't figure your's out yet. Real names are stupid. My parents gave me a ridiculous girly one."

"What is it?" I tried.

"Oh please," said Six. "Why should I tell you? You haven't earned it."

I saw her army jacket had a crude patch that held a dark blue six.

"Why Six, then?" I asked. "And is it the numeral, or spelled out?"

She punched me in the arm, and it hurt. The van swerved a little. "My dad was a cop, and he made this patch. He was Officer #6. I was also 6 when he died…"

"I'm so sorry…" I said, trying to comfort her.

"Shut up dork," she said. "It was 7 years ago. And I think you should know by now that I'm not the weak little girl you make me out as. I would have kicked your ass yesterday, if you hadn't gotten lucky." She smiled.

"What ever."

We laughed. I didn't know her very well, but I knew that I liked her. As a friend!

I was enjoying this. We were going to save our friends, and we were having fun along the way.

"How did he die?" I don't know why I asked. But I really cared.

She looked at me with a thousand-yard-stare. She looked like she would call me a vulgar name, punch me, and get back into the back. Instead she told me.

"He died bringing me to Camp Half-Blood."

I thought that was all she was going to tell me. But she carried on.

"He was a cop. He educated me by himself, because he was smart. We always went across the country, because he kept getting relocated. Now I know that it was also to throw monsters off our trail. We were a family of two. We always visited the shooting range, because he wanted me to be able to defend my self. And I was only 6.

"Then we visited New York. We were going down a country road, when the RV flipped over. The couch slid, and it landed on my right side." She winced, remembering. "I still feel numb. Dad pushed the couch off of me and and broke the window above us. He helped me out. And I saw- I saw him.

"The wolf-guy. Lycaon. He tried feeding Zeus meat from a child. He was so angry, he turned him and all of his children into wolves. He was tall and had piercing yellow eyes. His children were all around him. My dad handed me a gun. It had 6 silver bullets. I made every bullet count. I killed 6 of the wolves chasing me. I made it to the entrance of Camp, but Lycaon was in front of me." She stopped and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her mind.

"It's OK," I said. "I've got it."

"Shut up Brainiac," she said. "Anyway, he killed my dad, and gave me a scar." I looked at where her beanie and hair covered the scar and eye. "Caleb and his sister-full sister Jenna, by the way-fended him off at only 8. They were able to get me in the barrier, where I was safe. I lived there for 7 years, and nothing spectacular happened. Except for the whole 2nd Titanochromy and such. Then Jenna disapeared 2 weeks ago. And I met you guys."

"I'm really sorry," I said. "I shouldn't have asked about your father."

"Oh grow some balls Eugene," she said. "Keeping my past bottled up would be like being a baloon. I could pop at any moment. So at least suck it up. The only real injury I got was losing my dad. Who cares about my little paper cut?"

I looked at her again. Through her blonde hair, I could see her right eye was a bit to pale. She was blind there. I reached out to put my hand on her shoulder. But as I touched her, she punched me. Square on the jaw. Despite the pain, I laughed. I had a friend.

Then suddenly, the van slammed into a huge object.


	8. Chapter 8 We Look Like Big Ants

Chapter 8

_Jacob_

The object sent the van spinning, disorienting me. I couldn't get the wheel back in my hands. When the vehicle finally stopped, it was because the left side of the van slammed into a tree. The airbag didn't go off. Suddenly, I felt a horrible pain in my left leg. The door had been dented in, and a piece of metal pierced my calf.

Miraculously, River was still snoring away. Valerie jerked up and moved, noticing she'd been really close to him. I tried turning to look into the back, but the metal tore a bit of my flesh. I yelped out in pain, but I got a look. The back door was Cody had been flung to the other side, Nicole was holding onto the walls as if they were spinning, and Six was thrown out of the van from standing next to me. Even Iris was in turtle form, hiding in her shell.

"Is e-everyone OK-K?" asked Valerie. Cody moaned, River snored, and Nicole gagged. I heard Six outside groaning. Iris changed into the form of a parrot, and said, "No, Dumbo!" As if the van had a sense of humor, the airbag went off in my face. I beat it down, trying to get some air.

"Help," I said. "The d-dent's got a shard in my leg. I can't m-move." I recognized this pain. Like when the piece of ladder had speared my shoulder. I knew I could make it.

Val, being a medic went to check it out. "I can help your leg," she said. "But I can't get the shard out." Suddenly, the van's dents righted themselves. The airbag was sucked back in, and the shard was ripped out, and back on the exterior of this maniac vehicle. I yelled out, because it tore my leg's skin a bit more. Val was a bit surprised, but I figured Camp Half-Blood's van would be magical. Why didn't it do that when we busted our tire and we had to push it? Now I was certain it had a sense of humor.

Nicole was Val's apprentice in medical assistance. So she immediately brought the gauze to wrap my leg in. I dragged my leg up on my seat. Val treated it, while I bit on a cloth. It hurt, but it was worth it. About 30 seconds after everything happened, Cody came up, looking through the window, looking dizzy.

"Am I..." he said, crossing his eyes, trying to get a hold of himself. "The only one who... gives a shiz what made us s-spin?"

I'd almost forgotten. I looked out the window and saw it.

[youtube] It's hard to describe it. Imagine a giant lizard.. It has a really long neck, and no hind legs. It's head was small, with countless teeth overlapping his lips. His tail was 10 feet long and ended with another head. This one was much longer, and looked much fiercer. It had huge, brown, feathery wings, in contrast to it's green, scaly skin. It was hard telling what it's main head was, though it seem to go forward with the small one in front. It was about 20 feet from head to head.

I remember this. When Perseus had cut off Medusa's head, he'd flown over a desert, and the blood had dripped onto the sand. The blood had transformed into a beast. It was always supposed to be in a desert though. Why was it here?

It wandered around in circles. It half slithered, and half crawled. It knew it didn't belong here. It swung it's big tail head in arcs, and flapped it's wings. It stumbled forward. I also saw another shape. It walked forward. It was a plump woman with black, curly hair. She had a grumpy face and an elongated nose. She wore an odd black dress. I'd seen her picture before.

"Hello humans of the present day," she said. "How do you all fare in the late times of night?"

I leaned out the window and looked out back. Six was pulling herself up, and trying to steady herself.

"I know you," I said. The way she spoke. "You're Discordia. Goddess of Confusion."

"Those are true of words," she replied, agonizingly. "But I like to be called upon by Eris."

I realized this was the first god I've ever seen. Dionysus was fond of naps. Eris was supposed to be a horrible goddess. She caused the Trojan War. "What's going on with Snakey here?"

"Confusion is the art for me," said Eris. "So the Amhisbaena is in it's homeland in sight alone. But I do forget the-"

"Stop talking like that!" yelled Cody from outside the van.

"Fine," said Eris. "My employer is paying me to kill you. I was lazy, so I plucked Ampy here from the desert. It only eats ants, so to him, you all look like some tasty, giant Honey Pots."

"What the heck? Employer?" I yelled. "You psychopath!"

She curtsied. "Why thank you!" she said. "Well, I'll most likely be seeing you soon. Toodle-ooh!" She disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

I yelled out in annoyance. That was a mistake. The Amphisbaena looked straight at us with it's tail head. It started drooling, as it saw some delicious Honey Pot Ants. It started slithering over to us. I looked in the back to see Cody was back in. Nicole dragged Six in, and closed the doors. Despite my injured leg, I pressed the pedal with all my strength.

The Amphisbaena got excited, as if it loved seeing it's prey run. It flapped it's wings and chased the van. We tried driving away for a minute, but the beast wasn't phased. We were only losing gas.

"Open the doors!" said Cody. Nicole kicked them open and grabbed her bow and some arrows. Six pulled herself up and leaned against the wall, pulling out her AK-47. Iris turned into a parrot again and started trash-talking the Amphisbaena. "You suck! Your mother was and crocodile! Go back to your cave you scaly son of a-"

I missed that last part because Six fired her gun. Nicole also shot 3 arrows into his chest. I winced. Snakey wasn't evil. He was just hungry. Then he caught up and slammed into the van. I totally forgot about my previous thought and screamed, "Kill him!"

The animal flapped it's wings and jumped at us. It just missed, but it sent us swerving.

I kept the wheel steady as I reached back through the window to the back.

"Give me River's spear," I said. Everyone seemed to be in a trance. Nicole was able to pull herself together and hand it to me from the back.

"Alright, Val?" I said. She nodded. "Take the wheel when I lean out the window." I slowly slid the spear out side, and I put it on the top of the van. "Go!"

I slid out the window, placing my rear on the door I took the spear and pointed it out. I leaned in momentarily.

"Val!" I said. "Turn around. Go straight at it, slightly to the right."

She looked at me as if I just told her to juggle some garden gnomes. "What?" she said. "Are you crazy?"

"Trust me."

She groaned, obviously not liking this idea.. "Just do it."

We turned around, making a quick 180. The Amphisbaena stopped dead in it's tracks. Our headlight's caught him like, well, an Amphisbaena caught in headlights. The only lights around us were the headlights, and a thin line of pink on the horizon. Almost daybreak.

Val revved the vehicle and charged. I held the spear outward, like a lance in a jousting tournament. I always wanted to do this. I flashed back to the moment where I shishkabobbed Mr. Core's skull. It would work this time. I closed my eyes, and held the spear straight. Bad idea.

I hit him alright. Square in the face. But as the van kept moving, I was ripped out from the window. And I landed on the ground. Hard. I was still holding onto the spear, still in the face of the front head. I gagged looking at all of the blood. I ripped it out, tearing off the left side of his face. I threw up for real this time.

His tail head yelled out in agony. Not really in pain, but from the horror. It curved around the body, looking at it's brother. It cried. Really cried. It whimpered, nudging the head, trying to wake it up. He jerked his head and looked at me with a deep hatred. I put my hands in front of my face to block the attack.

It didn't come. I peeked from my fingers. He was completely ignoring me. He seemed to be more concerned with trying to wake up his brother. I sighed and walked away from him, wiping the blood off of River's spear with my hoodie.

The van came around. I threw the weapon in the back, and climbed into the back, letting Val drive again.

"He'll be back from the Underworld in about a week, you know," said Nicole. "And he tried to kill us."

I sighed. "Yeah," I said. "Don't ask why, but I can't help feeling bad."

Suddenly River snorted, and woke up. "What did I miss?" he asked groggily.

And with that, we drove on.


	9. Chapter 9 It's Just a Dream

Chapter 9

_Jacob_

**(Sorry it took so long :/**

**And I have bad news. I finally have a life. I have 7****th**** grade to take care of, and as most of you should know, it's a living Hell. Now instead of spending my whole life on the computer RPing, writing, and Facebooking, I do stuff. Anyway, what my point is, is that I won't be able to post too often. Sorry. I know how much you love me! :P**

**P.S. Lost all my progress. Twice. . I guess my 4****th**** draft was slightly better though…)**

We discussed our plans. Apparently, we were still in Virginia, thanks to all the stops we made earlier. We figured that if we kept moving, we could make it to Florida. From there, we could get a boat, and make it to the islands. River swears that he knows where the islands are. Now that Val was driving again, I could finally get some sleep.

Unfortunately, I couldn't. I was so restless, I couldn't get any kip. But once Six offered to "help", and put on her knuckle dusters. That was enough motivation. I caught some Z's.

_I was back on one of the islands. Except I could make sense of my surroundings this time. It looked like a primitive camp ground. There were fires all around, and gargantuan huts made of stone and wood. I didn't see the residents, but I knew that they were sleeping. The sun was rising. I felt my invisible body being pulled to the largest of the huts. I went through the 15 foot tall door, and saw the inside. It was very simple. Wooden floors, crude furniture, and a large window in the back. Oh yes, and everything was three times the size of normal objects. I looked to the window. I couldn't see what was out there, because a giant, long table surrounded by chairs was blocking it._

_I heard footsteps. I almost hid, but I remembered that I was invisible. I watched instead. Three figures walked in. They were 15 feet tall, and looked very primal. They wore odd robes from wool and each had a beard. They each took a seat at the table._

_The one sitting at the head of the table looked taller, older, and much fiercer. I could tell he glared at the other two, even though I couldn't see any of their eyes. "Welcome," he said. "Adelais, of Brontes. And Brunhild, of Arges. I understand you would like to negotiate prisoners?"_

_The beast called Adelais pounded his fists on the table. "Enough games, Faramund," he said. "I want the red haired child!"_

_Brunhild single eyebrow narrowed angrily. "As do I."_

_Faramund snickered. "Well you can't both have him." He said. "Unless we sever him into thirds, I believe I shall hold onto him. What was his name? Oh yes. Rudolpho."_

_I gasped. Rudi._

_Brunhild glared at him. "We of Arges shall give up all of our captives. Including the Hades boy. For this one demi-god." He thought for a moment, as if demi-god wasn't the correct term._

_Adelais looked at him. "I have a child of Thor. A Norse half-blood. Is that not enough?" He looked like he wanted to strangle Faramund._

_"Why must you always solve your problems with violence?" he asked. "We fight for the same cause. Our ancestors created the weapons for the gods, but how did they thank us? Send them and their children into factories to make more. Revenge is what we all want. Now if you want to oppose me, leave."_

_"You mongrel…" hissed Brunhild. _

_"I welcome you within our perimeter peacefully to talk," said Faramund. "Now in 3 suns and 3 moons, I will give the child to Mother. Midnight. Both of you and your followers are welcome to join us, otherwise, leave."_

_Faramund turned his head. I saw he had no eyes except for one on his forehead. He was a Cyclopes._

_As the two others got up, grunting angrily, I saw what was outside. It was a Baharoth. A large circle of stones. Within them, was a smaller circle of rocks, more closed in. Kind of like a large campfire spot. A huge set of granite steps were behind it. And with horror, I realized what this was._

_It was a sacrificial pyre._

_They were going to burn the prisoners._

I was yanked from my dream gasping for air. Iris in ermine form, jumped up from her sleeping place around my neck. She ran down my shirt, frightened. Val was swerving the van. We were all terrible drivers.

Val looked back, hearing our dramatics. "Sorry," she said. "Deer."

I sighed. "Valerie?" I said. I winced, realizing I called her Valerie.

"Yes?" she asked sweetly, contradicting her hand gesture.

"We have three days, tops."

She couldn't have driven faster.

We were in North Carolina by morning.

45 minutes later, we realized we were lost. Turns out River was holding the map upside down. After that, we were back on track. But we were still running out of time.

I really wished we could have flown there. But _apparently_ Nicole has a bad history with the Eastern wind god, Eurus. She refused to get into it, it being a touchy subject.

As we progressed, we passed several houses. As the sun rose, more people were turning on their lights. It was a calming sight, seeing people sit on their porches, watching the sun rise. It kept my mind off of our friends' impending doom.

Crap. Now I reminded myself.

We were making it into town. We passed a few stores selling knickknacks, which was tempting. To River at least.

We had nothing to do but drive. So we planned. Three days. That's all the time we had. Distractions and monsters will slow us down. It was unavoidable. We would be attacked. We were heading into the Bermuda Triangle. I mean, why couldn't they be hiding them at a Six Flags park? I would much prefer that over the "Devil's Triangle", "Hoodoo Sea", or "The Triangle of Death".

But I didn't have a choice.

Anyway, about half an hour later, we were attacked by a freaky monster with a grudge against me.

But you don't want to hear about that.

Wait, what? Oh, you do? Ok, then.

So we drove for 30 minutes, when we stopped.

"Val," said Cody. "What's up? Why are we stopping?"

No answer. She just stared ahead. So did River.

"You guys are freaking me out…" said Nikki. "You aren't dead, are you?"

Six kicked open the back door. "Come on."

I had a bad feeling about this. We all piled out of the car. The two hypnotized people in front came out too. They just stared ahead. I even saw River drool a bit.

In front of us was a tiny wooden store. It was surrounded by a couple of nicer shops, but this one was different. It stood out by the creaky, rotten wood. But the biggest things were the tapestries. They hung in the windows like spider-webs. And they were depicting the Greek gods, monsters, and many other things that were way too ironic to be true.

Creeped out, I looked at the gang. Iris barked at the shop. But what scared me the most was the others. "Crap."

Everyone but the dog and I were hypnotized. Even the "All Mighty Six" was staring ahead with admiration.

"They're beautiful…" she said dreamily.

"Master pieces…" said Cody.

"I want one…" droned Nikki.

"I need one…" moaned Val

"Let's go…" said River.

What? The tapestries? Athena could have out-weaved the maker of them in her sleep. Wait, now what am _I_ saying? I was freaking out.

The 5 of them walked ahead in unison, like zombie soldiers. As Iris climbed my leg in iguana form, I got a bad feeling about this whole situation.

* * *

><p><strong>(You can probably guess who the monster is, right? I foreshadowed a bit. :P)<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**(Everyone, thanks for your support! Please keep reading and reviewing, and I'll keep writing! :D)**

Chapter 10

_Jacob_

"Guys!" I said. This was freaky. "Come back!"

They just walked forward, hypnotized. Nikki opened the font door, and they all poured inside. Iris was a beagle again, and barked at them. We followed regardless. I held out my sword, just in case.

Iris whimpered once we walked in. It was an odd place.

The shop looked like the outside. Rotten wood and old, but I could only see the floors, because the walls were covered in tapestries. But what was different, was that what looked to be a tiny place on the outside, was ginourmous! It was about the size of Walmart. Except the only thing they sold were the home-weaved creations. It was creepy. Everything was coated in dust. At the back, there was an empty counter with a cash register. A huge, creaky door behind that. Next to us, was a worn out, splintered loom. It was covered in duct tape, as if it had been smashed. Wait a second... This is-

The door opened. A middle-aged woman, with a blonde bun apeared. As she walked out, I heard a weird ticking noise. Behind the desk, she seemed pretty tall. She gasped when she saw us.

"Welcome!" She said happily. "I'm so glad you're here! I haven't had a customer in years! Apparently the demand for tapestries have gone down drastically." She looked down and fiddled with her red blouse. She then looked at us with a grin. "But you're all here now! Welcome demi-gods!"

She knew that we're half-bloods?... The rest of the gang just stared at her adoringly. "You can all call me Erica," said the woman. "And you are daughter of Aphrodite, son of Hecate, daughter of Apollo, son of Posiedon, daughter of Bia, and finally..." she looked at me for a moment. Then, she narrowed her eyebrows. Her lip twitched into a frown. And with hatred in her voice, she said, "Son of Athena."

Iris turned into a snake, and slithered up my arm. She hissed at Erica. Erica hissed back. The creepy woman kept her eyes on me. She suddenly smiled at turned to my friends. "So!" she said, clapping her hands. "What would you like to buy?" She gestured to a hanging. It was the image of a bear biting the head off of a deer. "Only 5 drachmas!"

Val tilted her head. "I like that one."

The rest walked over to different tapestries throughout the store. I couldn't have been more weirded out. No way Six would be interested in something so dainty as a flowered wall deceration. I would have laughed, if I wasn't scared.

"OK, um, Erica?" I asked. Iris became a spider and darted across my shoulders. I shivered shook Iris off. Like most Athena children, I have an extreme case of Arachnephobia. Iris turned back into a dog, just to pout. "Erica" ignored me.

I rubbed my temples. This was so weird. Maybe if I-

One of the floors had a nail jutting out. As I stepped forward, it sunk in through my blue converse, piercing my big toe. "**AHH**!" I yelled, clutching my foot. I hopped around one-legged, as Erica snickered. But then I slipped, and was sent tumbling into the loom.

Erica shrieked. The loom was completley demolished. As I got upfrom the rubble, the pissed off clerk looked at me. Void of emotion. Then her eyes were on fire. With intencity, she yelled, "_You arragant, prideful son of_-"

"OK!" I said quickly. "I didn't mean to!"

"I was going to say 'Son of Athena'!" she yelled. "Now, die!" She flipped over the counter she was still behind. And I saw it.

Imagine a female centaur. Then replace the horse with a freaking huge Black Widow spider. That was this "Erica". But her real name was Arachne.

The story was that there was once a great weaver named Arachne. She claimed to be better then Athena herself. Offended, Athena challenged her to a contest. Who ever could create the better tapestry was the best. Well, Arachne's subject was so disgraceful, Athena turned her into a spider, and smashed her loom. Looks like history repeats it's self, eh?

Anyway, giant-spider-girl flipped the counter over. She trotted towards me with all eight of her legs moving in unison. The chirping noise they made were freaky. I nearly threw up.

Iris jumped into the air, turning into a lion. She growled at Arachne. In response, she turned, her "backside" facing her. The abdomen twitched, and it sprayed a giant string of web at Iris. She was thrown backwards, sticking to the wall.

The others were completley oblivious to all of this.

As Iris was struggling to free herself, Arachne loomed over me. "You're just like your mother," she said with disgust. "You're haughty, brazen, aloof," She lifted her front leg. It was dagger sharp. "I can't kill that goddess, so I'll have to settle for you." She slammed her leg down, aiming for my face.

I couldn't grab my sword in time. So instead, I grabbed a piece of wood from the loom. As I shielded my face, her leg broke the wood in half. I chucked the pieces at her face. That made contact, and she stepped backwards.

As she shrieked, a terrifieing sound, I rolled away. I picked up my sword and got ready. The she-spider growled and charged. I swung my sword in a large arch from my left. As it connected with her leg, my whole body shook. Her exoskelaton was a strong as three layers of armor. She laughed.

I stumbled backwards. I emidiatley bumped into Nikki. We fell, and a tapestry fell on top of us. I struggled to get it off. Once I did, I helped her to her feet. She looked pretty dizzy, but she didn't seem hpnotized anymore. I guess I shook it out of her.

"What?..." she said. "All I could think of was tapestries... What's going on?..." She gestured to the spider crawling towards us.

I squeezed her shoulder. "It's Ok," I said quickly. "Just take care of Iris. Get her out."

Nikki nodded and ran to the shape-shifter. Just as I turned, Arachne kicked me back nto the bowels of the store. Why did this place have to be so big? At least I saw Nikki cutting Iris out of the webs.

The moment I turned around, I was kicked to the face. I was sent flying into the bowels of the store. Why did this place have to be so damn big? I groaned and tried to get up with no luck.

The beast loomed over me again. I held my sword out threateningly. She laughed. "_Son of Athena?_" she said mockingly. "You're nothing but an imbicele!"

That was the last straw. You can atempt to impale my head, you can kick me in the face, but you can _not_ question my intellect. My lip twitched and I held my sword by the blade. I squinted my eyes as she lifted her dagger leg yet again. And I threw it.

Arachne was paralyzed for a moment. She wasn't expecting it. The sword went flying through the air at her. Unfortunatley, I was only able to hit her right forearm. She suddenly unlatched her mouth. Her botom jaw seemed to be seperated, and split into two parts. She looked more like a spider than ever. She uttered the horrible, ear-peircing shreik as she grabbed her arm. She stumbled, trying to steady all 8 of her legs.

I gulped. I lost my sword. So I ran as fast as I could into the back of the store. Maybe I could postpone my death until Nikki got Iris out.

But Arachne shot a string of web at the ceiling. She pulled herself up, blood still oozing from her arm. Spidey latched herself onto the rotten wood with her sharp legs. She was now upside down, looking at me from directly above. This was like a horror movie.

I swore under my breath, and did what I do best: I ran.

She followed, eerily crawling on the ceiling behind me. Crap! What can I do? I stole a glance at Nikki. She hadn't made very much progress freeing Iris. I wasn't surprised. Spiderwebs were stronger then steel.

I lept underneath a display cabinet, showing a tapestry of an Earthen woman surounded by smaller figures bowing to her. I normally would have found this intruiging, but I was preoccupied. Arachne was yelling vulgar things. She was trying to get to me with out damaging the artwork. I got an idea.

I lept out, and in a second, smashed the display case. I grapped the tapestry, and held it in a threatening way. "Step back," I said. "Or the thingy gets it."

She gasped and walked back. I hated that chirping noise. "You wouldn't," she said, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh, I would," I said. I pulled out my match box. "And I'll burn this place to the ground if take a step closer."

She might have laughed. She might have cried. But I would never know, because the Amphisbaena charged in.


	11. Chapter 11 An Old Friend Shows Up

Chapter 11

_Jacob_

The beast charged. What the hell was it doing here? It was pulling itself

along backward. The still-mauled head was being dragged behind. It smelled horrible. Why hadn't it turned to that golden dust like the other monsters?

Now we had two creatures trying to kill us. Why was it following us all the way to North Carolina? Still holding a grudge? But he wasn't looking at us. He was staring down Arachne like a tasty snack. Wait a second...

Arachne was confused. I was too, but this surprise appearance might be in our favor. She turned her human half to face the animal. The moment she turned, the Amphisbaena chomped down on her abdomen. She shrieked with pain, again. I covered my ears to block it out.

Her rear was being devoured by Snakey. Suddenly, she released a spurt of her webs. They enveloped the Amphisbaena's mouth, sending it backwards. Or forwards for the carcass head. He shook his head, trying to get it off. His claws were almost useless, since they were made for the now deceased front head. He slithered forward.

I ran forward and grabbed a tapestry. While Arachne lunged, I threw the hanging. It covered her human body, blinding her momentarily. The Amphisbaena took the chance. He slithered forward-having gotten rid of the webs-and bit her legs again. She wasn't a tasty ant, but she was close enough for him.

She ripped off the tapestry. It tore, which made me wonder why the other one was so important. She shot another web at the Amphis' and attacked. It was weird, not being part of the fight.

I ran into the far back of the store. It took a while to get to the back, but suddenly, I slammed into Cody. He was talking to Six, River, and Val. They were checking out a larger tapestry together, which I found annoying. We were risking our lives, while they were shopping. I know it's not their fault, but...

And I saw something horrifying. I gagged, just able to push it down. A giant spider web covered the back wall of the store. And bodies lined it. Not skeletons, but mummies, wrapped in the webs, their blood drained completely. Their empty sockets stared me down. I moved back to the front.

And the Amphisbaena fell. Arachne was able to get a good strike to his chest, and webbed his body down. She lifted her leg... and she impaled his face. Very similar to the manner of which I did it to his brother. The snake was finally dead. I yelped. Arachne ripped her leg out-soaked with golden blood-and turned to me. She smirked, and crawled straight at me.

She lifted me up with her human hands. She stared me down with her two eyes which seemed to have four pupils inside each red iris. She smirked; glad to take her anger on Athena out on me. "Finally," she said with joy. "With you dead, my employer will pay me enough to retire early. To retire at 6,745 years of age? Can you imagine?"

Employer? Eris said something about an employer. Was someone hiring people to kill us? No matter, we were going to die anyway.

Her jaw split open again. She laughed and aimed to bite my head. I closed my eyes and expected the worst. See you later blood...

And golden blood splattered my face. I slowly open my right eye and yelped. There was an arrow sticking out of her face. Her eye was ripped apart. I gagged. She fell limp, dropping me on my head.

I groaned as I got up. I stumbled over to the shooter. It was Nikki. She was just putting the bow back on her shoulder, when it turned into her satchel. Woah. "Did I hit you?" she asked.

"Yes, Nikki," I said sarcastically. "You hit me."

I sighed and looked at the Amphisbaena. I patted his scaly back. "Thanks, Snakey," I said. I looked to the others. Iris turned into an elephant, stretching the webs just enough to break free. She turned back into a dog, and trotted back to me. The others were shivering, breaking free from the spell. Six looked the worst. "Ugh..." she moaned in distress. "Flowers... Tapestries... Make it stop..."

We eventually got her to snap out of it, and we all got back to the van. As I was in the doorway, I realized River was still there. "Hey, Riv," I said. "Come on."

"Just a minute!" he said. He was near the carcass of the Amphisbaena. He turned, and jogged back. "Sorry." He was holding a rolled-up tapestry and a horn from the Amphisbaena. "Trophies," he explained. "Just mementos."

I laughed. "Get in the van."

Before we left, I had some unfinished business to take care of. I pulled out my match box. I slid the match down the side of it, watching it catch aflame. I held it away from my body, and dropped it in the store. I walked away in slow motion like they do in the movies. But then the store caught on fire, and got way too hot. So I ran away from it.

"I freaking hate spiders."

_Camp_

The satyr moved briskly up the steps of the Big House. He looked nervous as he ran/galloped. He threw the door open, gasping for air. "Chiron! Dionysus!" he said. "The camp van is missing!"

The centaur and the god looked at the satyr. "Bail?" said Chiron. He was a white horse from the neck down, and a man from the waist up. He had a black, bushy beard that he was stroking at the moment. "What are you talking about?"

Bail, the brown-haired satyr, brayed nervously. "Ba-a-ah! It's gone! And six of our campers are gone."

Now Chiron was interested. "Six? All at once? Are they one of-" He paused and looked around. "-the missing?"

"I don't think so-o-o," he brayed. "A few campers saw the newer kid, River, tinkering with the van. We think they took-"

The pot-bellied, black bearded Dionysus was no longer quiet. "Took it?" he said angrily, his purple eyes flaring. "Stole it? I swear, if they took it, they're joining that kid who interrupted my nap in the lake! They-"

Chiron put his hand on Dionysus's shoulder. "Calm down," he said. "I'm sure they had a reason." He looked at Goat Boy. "Who's missing?"

Bail started fiddling with his horns. "Uh," he said. "The two newer kids, River Fowler, and Jacob Ryder. Nicole Anderson, Valerie Carter, Cody Marcus, and that girl who calls herself Six."

Dionysus growled. Chiron went to a desk and saw the Leave a Drachma, Take a Drachma dispenser. "I'll Iris Message them. We'll find out what's going on."

Dionysus groaned. "Fine," he said. "But if they don't convince me, they might as well be dolphins already."


End file.
